Tag Archives: Rev. Mike McMorrow

Last week CSLGH’s Spiritual Director Reverend Mike McMorrow spoke out about the post election concerns many are having. No matter what you are feeling or thinking, listen to his brief Gratitude Address. You may find that you and we all have a lot to be thankful for as we get closer to Thanksgiving Day and the rest of the holiday season. The transcript follows the video.

“My name is Reverend Mike McMorrow, and I’m the Spiritual Director at the Center for Spiritual Living in Granada Hills.

I’m speaking today about the post-election week, and I’m very aware that I have the flag behind me. This flag represents the ideals of the founding fathers of peace, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and I know this truth for all people!

So, some of us may be trying to sort out what happened in this past election; many people have come to my office crying, trying to sort out what does it all mean. What I know about this is that Spirit is not bound by precedent. I know that the weight of the office and responsibilities created in this situation known as the Presidency of the United States, is inspiring all of the players involved to demonstrate the highest good for this country.

So as we step into November, this month where we typically know and experience gratitude and thanksgiving for the many blessings in our life, we can be grateful for many things this week regardless of where we are on the political spectrum.

1. We had a successful transition of power that was peaceful.2. There have even been protests, and even within the protesting – exercising this basic right in our republic – that these too have been peaceful.

We recognize that there is only one power, one life, one light of God. There’s only one life, that is God’s life, that life is perfect, and that life is your life and my life right now. And [we recognize] the great possibilities for these United States and the planet that we share.

So join me and others like me who think in these ways, and know that together, we can in fact, create a world that works for everyone.

Come join us – Center for Spiritual Living Granada Hills. We’ll see you soon!”

Reverend Mike McMorrow

Spiritual Director, CSLGH

For more talks and Affirmative Prayer Treatments on this and other topics, please join us at the Center for Spiritual Living Granada Hills. This Wednesday night before Thanksgiving at 7 PM we will hold our special “Attitude of Gratitude” service in which all are welcome to share what they are grateful for.

Our regular service schedule is Sunday Services at 9:00 and 10:30 AM, with an optional meditation in between from 10:00 to 10:20 AM in our Sanctuary. Our regular Wednesday night Get Real and Heal service is from 7 to 8 PM.

Did you ever make an inventory of the good things in your life and write down how much you have to be thankful for?

When you count your blessings, don’t omit the little ones. Counting your bless­ings will help you more than most anything else you could possibly do.

In counting the blessings we come to realize that, as the Buddhists have taught us, all of life is impermanent – even our very life itself. Where we may have meandered down this fork and that, “there is no path that goes all the way”.

The Poet David Whyte observes that we all come to that place:

“…where the bridge is down

and there’s no place to cross.

You are not just trying to pray

to a God you imagined would keep you safe.

No, you’ve come to the place

where nothing you’ve done will impress

and nothing you can promise will avert

the silent confrontation,

The place where

your body already seems to know

having kept to the last

its own secret reconnaissance.

So this week, contemplate the idea of the Father, Mother, God and the path of impermanence.

Embrace each moment of our lives as our last one, bringing to it all the love we can muster.

Free of story – living squaring in the Right Now.

Let us bring the eternal Father and the eternal Mother to every being we meet through out this day and throughout the week, and then lets check in with each other and compare notes!

Seven of us from CSL Granada Hills went to the Centers for Spiritual Living Convention back in February 2015 in Las Vegas. We learned a lot and grew in consciousness. We met up with our sister and brother centers. We shared, had fun, and partied hearty.

#AWorldThatWorksForEveryone

I came home with this T-Shirt from Center for Spiritual Living Apple Valley.

There are more stories, but, as we all know, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

The CSL Vision and Mission

I was thrilled to hear our leaders focus on the Center for Spiritual Living movement’s mission rather than the administration. We heard about our vision/mission focus: envisioning a world that works for everyone – where each and every person has enough food, a home, and a sense of belonging.

#AWorldThatWorksForEveryone

Knowing a world in which kinship with all life prospers and connects through the guidance of spiritual wisdom and experience.

It was all very inspiring! And then, after each presentation, we were thrown out into the casino, because every hallway and door leads to casino. Here I was in Vegas, feeling very uplifted. I wanted to take it out into the world!

Taking the CSL Message to the World on the Vegas Monorail

One night, while I was riding the monorail around, I chatted with the person next to me. I asked the woman where she was going and she said she liked the slots at the MGM. She asked me what I was in Vegas for. I told her I was at a convention. She asked me for what organization.

Here’s what I told her: “We belong to a global enterprise. We’ve got outlets all around the world.

We visit people in hospitals, prisons, and hospice centers. We have youth programs. We feed the homeless; we have educational programs. We look after people from birth to death, creating a world that world for everyone. And, we basically deal with giving people tools to change their thinking to change their life for the better.”

She said “Wow!” And asked, “What organization is that – one that does so much?”

I felt great telling her, “Centers for Spiritual Living.”

I came away from the convention feeling that this movement, this organization that I belong to – Centers for Spiritual Living – is very much in alignment with my individual personal path.

I am grateful for all of us here at Center for Spiritual Living Granada Hills coming together in spiritual community not just to socialize and have fun together (and believe me, I love doing that), but that we do focus on being meaningfully involved with service to the world; creating a world that works for everyone.

Look for and follow the hashtag #AWorldThatWorksForEveryone.

Thank you!

Do you want to hear more about Centers for Spiritual Living and #AWorldThatWorksForEveryone? Reverend Jessica is one of the ministers who preside at the Center for Spiritual Living in Granada Hills. Come and join us for a Sunday or Wednesday service or one of our classes, workshops or events to hear more!

With Easter Sunday fast approaching on April 5 (April 12 on the Orthodox calendar), I have been reflecting as I often do on the feast of Easter and the resurrection itself.

As a child growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, Easter Sunday was a holiday of joy, new spring outfits, those nasty peeps candies, Easter bunnies-chocolate and warmer weather! Easter Sunday was also a bit of a relief to distance ourselves from the grave, (dare I say gruesome?) and serious business of Good Friday.

Easter at CSL Granada Hills is a time for renewal. It’s a renewal of nature and it’s at time to rejoice in a new season. It’s a time to join others to celebrate, and be open to a new exploration that is inclusive of all faiths, creeds, cultures and lifestyles – with people committed to seeing a ‘Greater Truth’ for themselves and for you.

So no matter what your memories of Easter hold, join us at our Center. We have a new way of thinking about spirituality and we invite you to experience it.

The Center for Spiritual Living has two Sunday services at 9:00 and at 10:30 AM. At 10:00 AM, join us for a brief meditation. Parents: our 10:30 service has three youth ministries for kids up to grade 2, for tweens and for teens. Park on the street or in the back and join us in the Sanctuary.

At the Center for Spiritual Living Granada Hills, we follow a philosophy that incorporates spiritual tools of affirmative prayer, healing and creative visualization to transform lives and make the world a more peaceful, harmonious, and prosperous place. We incorporate various teachings of all religious faiths, and we invite people of all denominations to join us for one of our services on Easter Sunday.

Hundreds of millions of people believe the body of Jesus was regenerated and raised from the dead on Easter Sunday. Millions of others believe it was his ‘spiritual body’ that was raised. The folks who were to become known as
‘Christians’ began arguing the point within years of the crucifixion…some keep up the same argument today.

“Was Jesus Divine from birth or did he ‘come to know Himself as one with the Father’?” “Was the body stolen or raised?” “Did that body ascend into heaven?”

These are all questions of faith that must be addressed by anyone considering the question of Jesus. Historically, the evidence is scant. Scholars tell us even the timeline of the gospels is suspect. Is this reason to discard the proposition altogether?

I think not.

If we look at the body of work attributed to Jesus, we find a way of living that calls all peoples, believers or not, to step up into being the best people they can be.

“Turn the other cheek”

“Judge not lest you be judged”

“Never mind the speck in your neighbors mind – tend to the log in our own”

“Do not fret over life trials and tribulations, are not the lilies of the field or the birds in the sky cared for? Would He not care for YOU even more than these?”

“There are healing aspects to faith and belief that defy rational explanations”

“Acts of humility are stronger than public displays of piety”

These are but a few examples of the lessons of this great teacher. They are all strong lessons on how to ‘think rightly’ into our most effective way of living human life and find a way of living that allows for a measure of prosperity through mutual respect and love.

So please join us on Easter. We are a non-denominational Center for Spiritual Living. All are welcome, no matter what your beliefs.